A 65-year-old Huntington Beach man died Wednesday after a two-vehicle collision sent his pickup into a tree, according to police. Officers were called around 5:20 p.m. to the intersection of Gothard Street and Lorge Circle, where they found the driver of a tan Chevrolet Colorado unconscious. He was taken to a hospital and later died. The driver of the other vehicle, a 60-year-old man in a white Toyota Sienna, was not hurt and stayed at the scene to speak with officers.
Investigators say both vehicles were headed south on Gothard Street, just south of Lorge Circle, when the Chevrolet collided with the Toyota, according to the Los Angeles Times, which cited City News Service. After the initial impact, the Chevrolet continued across the center of the roadway into the northbound lanes while still moving south before crashing into a tree. The Huntington Beach Police Department’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team is leading the case.
Investigation and local safety context
Police said impairment does not appear to be a determining factor at this stage of the investigation. Anyone who saw the collision or has relevant information is asked to call Traffic Investigator Cameron Houlston at (714) 536-5670.
Gothard Street and other key corridors are already on the city’s radar for traffic-safety planning. Official city roadway safety documents show that Huntington Beach tracks collision patterns and high-risk locations to guide both enforcement and engineering changes, a process that can inform how serious crashes like this are addressed long term.
What investigators want
Detectives are still stitching together the chain of events leading up to the crash and are especially interested in hearing from anyone who witnessed the collision or has dashcam or security video, according to the Los Angeles Times. The name of the man who died has not been released, and the accident team has said it will provide updates as the investigation moves forward.
